Cloth treating process and composition

ABSTRACT

THIS INVENTION RELATES TO A TREATING COMPOSITION FOR CLOTH WHICH RENDERS SUCH CLOTH OIL AND WATER REPELLENT. THE COMPOSITION IS A COMBINATION OF A STANDARD FLUOROCARBON RESIN TREATING AGENT FOR CLOTH COMBINED WITH AN INTERPOLYMER OF HEXAFLUOROACETONE.

United States Patent O U.S. Cl. 260-33.8 5 Claims ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE This invention relates to a treating composition for cloth which renders such cloth oil and Water repellent. The composition is a combination of a standard fluorocarbon resin treating agent for cloth combined with an interpolymer of hexafluoroacetone.

This invention relates to a novel cloth treating composition and process and more specifically relates to a cloth treating composition and process which renders cloth repellent to both oil and water.

In order to make cloth both oil, water and stain repellent, such cloth is presently treated with a fluorocarbon resin such as described in U.S. Pats. 2,841,573; 3,147,065; 3,147,066; 3,188,340; 3,198,754; 3,248,260; 3,256,230; 3,256,231; and 3,282,905 for example. Such fluorocarbon resins are usually employed in a concentration of at least 0.3 percent by weight of the cloth. Due to the cost of such treating agents, it ywould be highly desirable to reduce the proportion of treating agent which is required. However, at lower concentrations, such uorocarbon resin treating agents have proved to have insuiicient water repellency. The addition of commercially available water repellents to such dilute solutions of fluorocarbon resins improves the Water repellency of the treated cloth but renders the oil repellency of such treated fabric unacceptable. Therefore, an additive for dilute solutions of fluorocarbon resin treating agents which would enhance both the oil and water repellency of the treated cloth would 'be highly desirable.

It is an object of this invention to provide an improved cloth-treating composition capable of rendering cloth repellent to both oil and water. A further object of this invention is to provide an improved process for the treatment of cloth which renders such cloth oil and Water repellent and requires relatively low proportions of treating agents. These and other objects and advantages of the present invention will become apparent from a reading of the following detailed description.

It has now been discovered that the addition of an interolymer of hexafluoroacetone to standard solutions of fluorocarbon resin treating agents suitable for cloth treatment not only enchances the water repellency of the treated cloth but likewise increases the oil repellency over that obtained with the same concentration of the fluorocarbon treating agent alone.

Fluorocarbon resin treating agents for cloth are usually employed in solvent such as a chlorinated hydrocarbon in a concentration of from about 0.05 to about 0.5 Weight percent. The clot-h to be treated is saturated with the fluorocarbon solution by dipping, spraying or other suitable means then heated to remove the solvent therefrom. The amount of uorocarbon resin deposited on the fabric therefore is determined by the absorbancy of the cloth and the concentration of the fluorocarbon resin in the solvent.

Concentrations of fluorocarbon resin in the solvent of less than about 0.05 Weight percent usually do not provide sufficient repellency to the cloth while `concentrations in excess of l0.5 weight percent deposit an amount of fluoro- 3,558,549 Patented Jan. 26, 1971 carbon resin which makes the treatment economically irnpractical for most uses.

The term interpolymers of hexafluoroaectone, as used herein, refers to interpolymers containing from about 50 to about 67 mole percent of hexafluoroacetone combined with from about 1 to about 50 mole percent of diepoxide, polyepoxide or unsaturated epoxide (preferably containing from 4 to 8 carbon atoms) and up to about 49 mole percent of one or more lower alkylene oxides (preferably containing from 2 to 4 carbon atoms). This term likewise applies to the aziridine derivatives of such interpolymers which are prepared by reacting such polymers with a molar excess of a lower alkylene imine containing from 2 to 4 carbon atoms. Such aziridine derivatives are usually preferred for use in the process of this invention.

Suitable unsaturated epoxides for use in such interpolymers include allyl glycidyl ether, glycidyl acrylate, butadiene monoepoxide, and the like. Suitable diand polyepoxides `include epoxy resins such as the diglycidyl ether of Bisphenol A, butadiene diepoxide, limonene dioxide, and the like.

Alkylene oxides suitable for use in the interpolymers of this invention include ethylene oxide, propylene oxide, 1,2-butylene oxide, 2,3-butylene oxide and mixtures thereof.

In order to achieve the enhanced water and oil repellency -where low proportions of the iluorocarbon resin are employed, it is necessary to incorporate into the uorocarbon resin treating agent a weight proportion of interpolymer of hexauoroacetone to fluorocarbon resin of from about 1:20 to about 3:1. The combined treating agent of uorocarbon resin and interpolymer of hexafluoroacetone is dissolved in a suitable solvent to provide a total concentration of such mixed repellents of between about 0.1 and 1.0% by weight. While the mixed repellents may bo dissolved directly in the desired solvent, it is usually more convenient to make stock solutions containing from about 10 to about 30% of the repellents in a suitable solvent such as methyl chloroform, methyl isobutyl ketone or the like and later to dilute such stock solutions to the appropriate concentration prior to use. Such solutions are applied to cloth in the usual manner so as to apply the desired amount of repellent thereto. After application of the mixed repellent solution, the solvent is removed by evaporation or other :suitable means leaving such repellents on the surface and in the pores of the cloth. While the hand and other physical characteristics of the cloth are not substantially altered by the addition of the repellents thereto, both oil and water repellency are imparted to the fabric to a degree not heretofore obtainable with relatively low levels of fluorocarbon resins alone or with relatively low levels of :lluorocarbon resins in combination with commercialy available waterproofing agents.

The following examples are provided to more fully illustrate the invention but are not to be construed as limiting to the scope thereof.

EXAMPLE 1 A number of samples of a poly [Z-(N-propyl-N-periluoroalkylsulfonylamino) ethylacrylate], a commercial fluorocarbon treating agent for cloth (sold as Scotchgard FC 310) as a solution in 1,1,l-trichloroethane and containing various amounts of an interpolymer of hexafluoroacetone were prepared to show the effectiveness of the compositions of this invention at such concentrations. The interpolymer of hexailuoroacetone employed was the reaction product of an interpolymer of hexafl'uoroacetone, ethylene oxide, butylene oxide and butadiene diepoxide in mole ratios of :55 :35:10 respectively and a stoichiometric excess of ethylene imine. Controls were likewise prepared and tested which contained the commercial fluorocarbon treating agent alone and combined with a commercially available water-repellent (a 1:1 complex of tetrapropyl titanate and 2,4-pentanedione, sold as Tyzor AA) to demonstrate the eect of a water repellent on both the oil and water repellency of the treated cloth and the effectiveness of the uorocarbon resin treating agent alone at such concentrations.

Swatches of olive-green cotton Sateen were then saturated with such repellent compositions and dried. The water repellency of such samples was then determined by the water spray test method of the American Association of Textile Chemists and Colorists, Method 22-1961 (AATCC Tech. Manual No. 37, p. 152, 1961).

Oil repellency was determined using AATCC test method 118-1966 T.

The results of such tests are shown in the following table and for clarity are plotted in the figure.

TABLE Fluorocarbon resin Water Interpolytreating repelmer of hex- Water Oil agent, lent, auoroacerepelrepolweight weight tone, weight leuey lency Composition No. percent percent percent rating rating As can be seen from the curve plotted from these values, the water-repellency of cloth treated with a iluorocarbon resin treating agent combined with either a commercial water repellent or an interpolymer of peruoroacetone achieve substantially the same values at any given concentration. At the lower end of the concentration range, the combined treating agents provide a higher degree of water repellency than the uorocarbon resin treating agent alone.

On the other hand, oil repelleney of cloth treated with the composition of this invention is significantly increased over the fluorocarbon resin treating agent alone while the oil repellency of cloth treated with the uorocarbon resin treating agent combined with a water repellent is significantly decreased.

Various modications can be made in the present invention without departing from the spirit or scope thereof for it is understood that I limit myself only as dened in the appended claims.

I claim:

1. An improved composition for the treatment of cloth to render such cloth oil and water repellent which comprises a solution of poly[2-(N-propylNperuoroalkylsulfonylamino)ethylacrylate] resin treating agent in combination with (1) an interpolymer consisting essentially of about to about 67 mole percent of hexatluoroacetone combined with from about 1 to about 50 mole percent of a diepoxide, a polyepoxide or an unsaturated epoxide and up to about 49 mole percent of `at least one lower alkylene oxide or (2) an aziridine derivative of said interpolymer in proportions of from about 0.7/1 to about 1.5/1 of interpolymer of hexauoroacetone to said resin treating agent.

2. The composition of claim 1 wherein the concentration of repellents inthe solution is from about 0.1 to about 30 weight percent.

3. The composition of claim 1 wherein the concentration of repellent in the solvent is from about 0.1 to about 1.0 weight percent.

4. The composition of claim 3 wherein the solvent is 1,1,1-trichloroethane.

S. The composition of claim 1 wherein the interpolymer of hexauoroacetone is the reaction product of an interpolymer of hexafluoroacetone, ethylene oxide, butylene oxide and butadiene diepoxide in mole proportions of :55:35:10 respectively and a stoichiometric excess of ethylenimine.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 3,475,376 10/1969 Smith 260-63 MORRIS LIEBMAN, Primary Examiner S. M. PERSON, Assistant Examiner U.S. Cl. X.R. 260-47, 63, 830 

